Morris Heights is a residential neighborhood located in the West Bronx. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: West Burnside Avenue to the north, Jerome Avenue to the east, the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the south, and the Harlem River to the west. University Avenue is the primary thoroughfare through Morris Heights.

After a wave of arson ravaged the low-income communities of New York City throughout the 1970s, many if not most residential structures in Morris Heights were left seriously damaged or destroyed. The city began to rehabilitate many formerly abandoned tenement-style apartment buildings and designate them low-income housing beginning in the late 1970s. Also, many subsidized attached multi-unit townhouses and newly constructed apartment buildings have been or are being built on vacant lots across the neighborhood.

Morris Heights is believed to be the site where Hip Hop culture originated in the 1970s. However, in the late 1960s and early 1970s several disc jockeys protected by the Black Spades (a violent but organized gang that promoted their own form of justice; originally from Bronxdale Housing Projects & later recruited several members from Bronx River Housing Projects), and other gangs took their DJ led block parties in the South Bronx, the East Side of the Bronx and the West Side.[6][7][8][9][10][11]

Morris Heights has a population of around 36,779. Almost half the population lives below the poverty line and receives public assistance (TANF, Home Relief, Supplemental Security Income, and Medicaid). The vast majority of residents in the area are of Hispanic or African American descent. The majority of households are renter occupied.[2][12]

Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of University Heights and Morris Heights was 54,188, a change of -147 (-0.3%) from the 54,335 counted in 2000. Covering an area of 484.32 acres (196.00 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 111.9 inhabitants per acre (71,600/sq mi; 27,700/km2).[13] The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 1.4% (760) White, 31.8% (17,219) African American, 0.2% (106) Native American, 1.3% (688) Asian, 0% (11) Pacific Islander, 0.3% (158) from other races, and 0.8% (424) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 64.3% (34,822) of the population.[14]

The entirety of Community District 5, which comprises Morris Heights, University Heights, and Fordham, had 136,151 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 79.9 years.[15]:2, 20 This is lower than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods.[16]:53 (PDF p. 84)[17] Most inhabitants are youth and middle-aged adults: 28% are between the ages of between 0–17, 29% between 25–44, and 23% between 45–64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 12% and 8% respectively.[15]:2

As of 2017, the median household income in Community District 5 was $30,166.[18] In 2018, an estimated 34% of Morris Heights and Fordham residents lived in poverty, compared to 25% in all of the Bronx and 20% in all of New York City. One in eight residents (13%) were unemployed, compared to 13% in the Bronx and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 65% in Morris Heights and Fordham, compared to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 58% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, as of 2018[update], Morris Heights and Fordham are considered low-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.[15]:7

Morris Heights is dominated by 5- and 6-story tenement buildings, older multi-unit homes, vacant lots, newly constructed subsidized attached multi-unit townhouses, and apartment buildings. A significant percentage of the early 20th-century housing stock was structurally damaged by arson and eventually razed by the city. The total land area is less than half one square mile. The terrain is elevated and consists of many hills. Stair streets connect areas located at different elevations.

Morris Heights and Fordham are patrolled by the 46th Precinct of the NYPD, located at 2120 Ryer Avenue.[3] The 46th Precinct ranked 27th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010.[20] With a non-fatal assault rate of 126 per 100,000 people, Morris Heights and Fordham's rate of violent crimes per capita is greater than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 1,033 per 100,000 people is higher than that of the city as a whole.[15]:8

The 46th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 80.6% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 9 murders, 28 rapes, 315 robberies, 586 felony assaults, 190 burglaries, 478 grand larcenies, and 86 grand larcenies auto in 2018.[21]

Preterm and teenage births are more common in Morris Heights and Fordham than in other places citywide. In Morris Heights and Fordham, there were 93 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 35.3 teenage births per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide).[15]:11 Morris Heights and Fordham has a relatively average population of residents who are uninsured. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 14%, higher than the citywide rate of 12%.[15]:14

The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in Morris Heights and Fordham is 0.0083 milligrams per cubic metre (8.3×10−9 oz/cu ft), more than the city average.[15]:9 Sixteen percent of Morris Heights and Fordham residents are smokers, which is higher than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers.[15]:13 In Morris Heights and Fordham, 34% of residents are obese, 16% are diabetic, and 27% have high blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively.[15]:16 In addition, 24% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.[15]:12

Seventy-eight percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is less than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 67% of residents described their health as "good," "very good," or "excellent," lower than the city's average of 78%.[15]:13 For every supermarket in Morris Heights and Fordham, there are 20 bodegas.[15]:10

Morris Heights is covered by ZIP Codes 10453 and 10452.[25] The United States Postal Service operates two post offices nearby: the Morris Heights Station at 2024 Jerome Avenue[26] and the University Heights Station at 1541 Shakespeare Avenue.[27]

Morris Heights and Fordham generally have a lower rate of college-educated residents than the rest of the city. While 10% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 34% have less than a high school education and 46% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 26% of Bronx residents and 43% of city residents have a college education or higher.[15]:6 The percentage of Morris Heights and Fordham students excelling in math rose from 19% in 2000 to 43% in 2011, and reading achievement increased from 24% to 28% during the same time period.[28]

Morris Heights and Fordham's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is more than the rest of New York City. In Morris Heights and Fordham, 30% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year, higher than the citywide average of 20%.[16]:24 (PDF p. 55)[15]:6 Additionally, 66% of high school students in Morris Heights and Fordham graduate on time, lower than the citywide average of 75%.[15]:6

The New York Public Library (NYPL) operates the Sedgwick branch at 1701 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The branch first opened in the Sedgwick Houses in 1951 before moving to its present two-story building in 1994.[29]